Lesson Planet
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with Earnest Research
Incorporating research and project-based learning while celebrating Native American Heritage Month.
Curated OER
Thanksgiving in America
A rhetorical look at Thanksgiving celebrations from all sides of the American dinner table.
Curated OER
Color the Turkey!
Celebrate the season! Your elementary Spanish learners will love coloring in this turkey prior to Thanksgiving Day. Each part of the turkey has a designated color, but learners must match up the number associated with each part with its...
Academy of American Poets
Thanksgiving with Richard Blanco's "América"
Traditions, like the times, are a-changin'. Middle schoolers conduct a close reading of Richard Blanco's poem "América" and consider how Blanco's family approached his suggestions for adopting a new approach to their Thanksgiving meal.
Curated OER
Giving Thanks: A Haudenosaunee Message of Thanksgiving
A discussion of thankfulness opens a lesson followed by a read-aloud of the "Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address Greetings to the Natural World." Scholars answer questions and write down what they are thankful for in their home or...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “Thanksgiving” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Victor Laredo's painting "On the Beach" and Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem "Thanksgiving" allow young scholars to use their noticing skills. Class members identify elements of the painting the artist uses to create the feeling of his work....
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “One day is there of the series” by Emily Dickinson
A activity begins with learners saying three words they associate with Thanksgiving dinner. They examine a picture of a menu from a Thanksgiving meal and discuss what they believe the artist wants them to feel, pointing out details....
DocsTeach
Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation
While most Americans connect the celebration of Thanksgiving to a colonial celebration of pilgrims and Native Americans, the national holiday was actually the product of a war-time measure by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War....
Plimoth Plantation
History In A New Light: Illuminating the Archaeology of Historic Patuxet and Plymouth
Sixty-seven pages take scholars on a digital tour through the exhibit, History in a New Light: Illuminating the Archaeology of Historic Patuxet and Plymouth. Crystal clear pictures accompanied by text offer a deep understanding of the...
Scholastic
The First Thanksgiving Feast for Grades 6–8
It's time for the feast! Young historians complete their study of the First Thanksgiving by completing an online activity, watching a slideshow, and examining a First Thanksgiving timeline. After answering text-dependent questions to...
Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life for Grades 6–8
Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...
Scholastic
Voyage on the Mayflower for Grades 3-5
Following an online activity, scholars complete a Grafitti Wall in which small groups write words and phrases on chart paper pertaining to Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and Thanksgiving. Pupils perform a close reading then answer a series of...
Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life for Grades 3-5
Thirteen steps make up a lesson that challenges pupils to compare and contrast the daily lives of Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe. Learners revisit the Graffiti Wall then break into small groups for an investigative reading assignment...
Scholastic
The First Thanksgiving Feast for Grades 3-5
Scholars examine the first Thanksgiving through books and interviews while they complete a KWL chart. Pretending they are part of the feast, learners craft a scrapbook page that features images related to their experience. Pupils reflect...
Scholastic
Voyage on the Mayflower for Grades 6–8
Imagine living in the hold of a sailing ship for 63 days, enduring rough seas and autumn storms. As part of a study of the voyage of the Mayflower, class members examine an online resource that details life about the ship, watch a slide...
Teacher.org
The History of Thanksgiving
The first Thanksgiving is the focus of a lesson that boosts reading comprehension and interview skills. Half the class reads about Pilgrims while the other half reads about the Native American, Squanto. After answering questions, pupils...
Scholastic
Voyage on the Mayflower
After completing an online activity about the Mayflower, scholars draw a picture about what they know of the Thanksgiving holiday, including a one-sentence summary. A reading of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma is the...
Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life
A instructional activity looks at the Pilgrims and Wampanoag tribe during the first Thanksgiving. Scholars compare and contrast information presented by an online activity then discuss their findings. Learners examine the two group's...
Scholastic
The First Thanksgiving Feast
Following an online activity, scholars listen to a read-aloud of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma. Pupils discuss their family traditions and complete a T-chart comparing the holiday then and now. Collages are made to...
Teaching Tolerance
Thanksgiving Mourning
Two primary sources, a speech, and an article provide tweens and teens with different perspectives of the American Thanksgiving holiday. After analyzing Wamsutta James' suppressed speech and Jacqueline Keeler's article, class members use...
ABCya
Turkey Touchdown
Touchdown! A Thanksgiving Day, football-themed learning game challenges mathematicians to answer addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. After five correct answers, players aim and kick a field goal before the next...
ABCya
Thanksgiving Word Search
Scholars search through a crossword puzzle to locate a variety of words related to Thanksgiving. Either online or on paper, players highlight or circle their findings. Words disappear from a list after they've been located.
ABCya
Thanksgiving Crossword Puzzle
Solve an eight-question crossword puzzle all about Thanksgiving. Players click on rows and columns, read a question, and answer using the given letters. Hints are provided at a point cost.
ABCya
Thanksgiving Challenge
Set the Thanksgiving Day holiday table with a learning game that challenges participants to think critically about family members' likes and dislikes. Players scroll over a character to reveal what the requirements are for their seating...